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Smartphone app anonymity causes concerns on college campuses

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is considering banning the popular app, Yik Yak, on the grounds that it promotes hateful speech, reported Education News.
- photo by Leslie Corbly

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is considering banning the popular app, Yik Yak, on the grounds that it promotes hateful speech, reported Education News.

Vile comments such as, I really hate blacks, Im going home where there arent any, and the way blacks are acting right now kind of justify slavery, caused outrage over misuse of the app at UNC-Chapel Hill, wrote Kristin Decarr for Education News.

We want Carolina to be a place where people feel comfortable talking about race and other issues, and we are working hard to create opportunities for them to do that in a constructive and respectful way, Winston Crisp, the school's vice chancellor of student affairs told the publication.

Yik Yak, created to be a hyperlocal form of social media, allows users to post anonymous messages that other users from a particular geographic location can then view. Posts can be voted off of the site, but disturbing content is, in some cases, popular, reported Education News.

Incidents of misuse of Yik Yak are not limited to UNC-Chapel Hill. The Washington Post reported a college in New Jersey investigated students who released a sex tape via Yik Yak without the permission of the subject. In addition, a freshman at Towson University was arrested and charged for posting his intention to cause a Virginia Tech Part 2 in September 2014, referring to the 2007 campus shooting rampage that killed 32 people.

It seems to have been posted in a moment of anger and frustration, said Ray Feldmann, Towsons director of communications, to The Washington Post. But were in an environment now, a post-Virginia Tech world, where you just cant make threats like that. Theres no such thing as a hoax or a prank."

Yik Yak's lead community developer Cam Mullen told The Daily Illini the possibility of abuse is present in all forms of social media. Mullen said Yik Yak takes any threatening posts seriously, Sometimes Yik Yak might get a call saying we have a threat posted. In other cases, weve actually noticed it first and reached out to the local authorities, telling them about it.

A biology professor at Colgate University took a unique approach to hateful content on the app. Assistant professor Geoff Holm organized a group of approximately 50 faculty who posted positive content on Yik Yak in an effort to show students the importance of representing their campus well, reported The Daily Illini.

I think Yik Yak is like a truck stop bathroom wall: You cant really control exactly what goes on there, and for the most part you can ignore it, but if things that are truly offensive end up there, it can color peoples perception of that community, Holm said.